Over the past couple of years I have been following the adventures of John Rogers, a YouTuber and writer whose channel is dedicated to 'immersive London walking tours exploring the hidden history of London, its streets, suburbs, and forgotten places – from ancient paths and lost rivers to post-war estates and overlooked corners of the city.' He also explores 'coastal paths, countryside walks, and historic locations across the UK.' His films 'combine walking, storytelling, psychogeography, and cultural history, uncovering the layers of the urban landscape and the stories embedded within it.' John is occasionally accompanied by others, including Ian Sinclair, who is a great advocate of psychogeography.
So, what is psychogeography?
Psychogeography was developed as a concept by members of the Letterist International and Situationist International in the early 1950s and is defined as being 'the exploration of urban environments that emphasises interpersonal connections to places and arbitrary routes.' The concept was influenced by Marxist and anarchist theory and the Dadaists and the Surrealists.
In INTRODUCTION TO A CRITIQUE OF URBAN GEOGRAPHY – published in 1955 by The Situationist International Text Library – Guy Debord defined psychogeography as 'the study of the precise laws and specific effects of the geographical environment, consciously organized or not, on the emotions and behaviour of individuals.'
In the UK, it has a small but very active following, particularly amongst academics, artists, filmmakers, and writers. The latter include Peter Ackroyd and Will Self.
So, why did I become interested in psychogeography?
The answer is very simple. I live on Shooters Hill and it has been identified by the late Steve Moore and Ian Sinclair as being a psychic hotspot, which apparently makes it an important location in psychogeography.
And what links psychogeography to wargaming?
Again, the answer is simple ... Guy Debord. In the 1960s, he felt that if the left-wing remained ignorant of military strategy, they were unlikely to prevail in the class war he expected to take place soon. In conjunction with Alice Becker-Ho, he devised a grid-based wargame – LE JEU DE LA GUERRE – that he hoped would fill this void.
The cover of the 1987 edition of Le Jeu de la Guerre.
The game was published in France in 1977, and an English edition followed in 1985. In recent years, Class Wargames – a London-based group – has revived interest in the game, and an electronic version is available to download.
Members of Class Wargames playing Le Jeu de la Guerre in Brazil.
I have played the latter solo many times on my iPad (it has an AI opponent option available as well as the option to play online against other wargamers), and it certainly helps to develop ones strategic thinking!
A screenshot of the electronic version of Guy Debord's wargame.
Time – and life – permitting, I hope to investigate further into the possibility of applying psychogeography to wargaming.
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